Fidelity Union Trust Co. v. Commissioner

6 B.T.A. 125, 1927 BTA LEXIS 3596
CourtUnited States Board of Tax Appeals
DecidedFebruary 10, 1927
DocketDocket No. 5433.
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 6 B.T.A. 125 (Fidelity Union Trust Co. v. Commissioner) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Board of Tax Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Fidelity Union Trust Co. v. Commissioner, 6 B.T.A. 125, 1927 BTA LEXIS 3596 (bta 1927).

Opinion

[127]*127OPINION.

MuRdooK :

Section 403 (a) (2) of the Revenue Act of 1921 is as follows:

Sec. 403. That for the purpose of the tax the value of the not estate shall he determined—
(a) In the case of a resident, by deducting from the value of the gross estate—
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(2) An amount equal to the value of any property forming a part of the gross estate situated in the United States of any person who died within five years prior to the death of the decedent whore such property can be identified as having been received by the decedent from such prior decedent by gift, bequest, devise, or inheritance, or which can be identified as having been acquired in exchange for property so received: Provided, That this deduction shall be allowed only where an estate tax under this or any prior Act of Congress was paid by or on behalf of the estate of such prior decedent, and only in the amount of the value placed by the Commissioner on such property in determining the value of the gross estate of such prior decedent, and only to the extent that the value of such property is included in the decedent’s gross estate and not deducted under paragraphs (1) or (3) of subdivision (a) of this section. This deduction shall be made in case of the estates of all decedents who have died since September 8, 1916.

The Commissioner, in his calculation of the deduction to be allowed under the above portion of the Act, had authority to limit that deduction to the amount of the value placed by the Commissioner on such property in determining the value of the gross estate of such prior decedent, and to the extent that the value of such property was included in the decedent’s gross estate. In other words, the value of such previously taxed property for the purpose of determining the deduction can not be greater than the amount at which it was included in the decedent’s gross estate and can not be greater than the amount at which it was valued in determining the gross estate of the prior decedent, but should be as large as the lesser of the two amounts above mentioned.

The respondent admits by the pleadings that the value of this property was included in the gross estate of the decedent to the extent of $56,436.12. Tet, in the calculation of the deficiency, it is apparent that the value of $55,007.27 was used, and, as is indicated in his brief, this figure was used because it represented the value of the previously taxed property as of the date of the decedent’s death. [128]*128It is apparent, therefore, that some mistake has been made which must be corrected under Rule 50; either the gross estate of this decedent should be reduced in the ‘amount of $1,428.85, or the deductions under section 403(a) (2) of the Revenue Act of 1921, as allowed by the Commissioner in the determination of the deficiency, should be increased in the amount of $1,428.85.

Section 401 of the Revenue Act of 1921 imposes a tax equal to a percentage of the value of the net estate (determined as provided in section 403) upon the transfer of the net estate of this decedent. Section 403 provides that the value of the net estate shall be determined in the case of a resident by making certain deductions from the gross estate. We are concerned only with the question of an alleged double deduction which the Commissioner claims is contrary to a portion of the proviso in section 403 (a) (2), “ Provided, That this deduction shall be allowed * * * only to the extent that the value of such property is * * * not deducted under paragraphs (1) or (3) of subdivision (a) of this section.” Paragraph (1) allows a deduction of administration expenses and certain other charges and losses, and paragraph (3) allows a deduction of charitable bequests or devises and certain other devises and bequests of a similar nature.

The Commissioner admits that “ the value of such property ” was not deducted under paragraph (1), and that the deduction of $9,701.83 was proper, but claims that .to the extent of $15,239 “ the value of such property ” was deducted under paragraph (3) and he therefore has reduced the deduction under paragraph (2) in that amount.

We are convinced that the excess of $239 realized from the sale of the securities from the husband’s previously taxed estate was turned over to the husband’s brother and sister to pay the balance of the bequest under paragraph “ Seventh ” of the will, that no part of it was used to pay the bequest under paragraph “ Sixth ” of the will, and that no part of the value of it was deducted under section 403(a)(3). Therefore the deductions under section 403(a)(2) as allowed by the Commissioner should be further increased by this amount. .

But we are unable to say from the record that the full amount of the $15,000 realized from the sale of securities from the estate of the husband was not required to pay one of the $15,000 legacies to the hospitals, because we do not know how much of the gross estate represented the value of property disposed of in the specific devise and specific legacies under paragraphs “ Second,” “ Fourth,” and “ Fifth ” of the will.

Paragraph “ Second ” of the will was what is termed a specific bequest or legacy, and could only be satisfied by the petitioner deliv[129]*129ering the specific things therein individualized and mentioned to the persons named. Paragraphs “Fourth” and “Fifth” were similar and could only be satisfied in the same way. We know that of the decedent’s gross estate about $134,000 represents the value of property other than that received from her husband’s estate. But we do not know the value of decedent’s jewelry, wearing apparel, household goods and household furnishings, of her theological books, and of her house and lot, known as No. 61 de Forest Ave., Summit, N. J., all of which she specifically disposed of in her will. Suppose that those items had a value of $119,000. Then only $15,000 would have been available from her own property to pay a part of the $30,000 bequeathed to the two hospitals and it would have been necessary to use the $15,000 realized from the sale of the husband’s securities to complete the payment of the $30,000 just mentioned. If it had been absolutely necessary to use $15,000 realized from the sale of the husband’s securities to pay one-half of the charitable bequests, we can not say that the Commissioner was in error when he reduced the total deductions claimed under section 403(a) (2) by $15,000, for the reason that he had already allowed a deduction represented by this $15,000 in the deductions for charity under section 403(a) (3), since, to the extent of $15,000, the value of such previously taxed property was thus deducted under paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) of this section.

We can see no distinction between this case and the case of a decedent whose gross estate was $115,000, consisting of a house and lot worth $100,000, and securities worth $15,000, the latter received from her husband, whose estate had been taxed within five years, where the decedent by her will devised her house and lot to her sister and gave $15,000 to charity, and then claimed a deduction of $15,000 as a charitable bequest under section 403(a)(3) and $15,000 as a deduction on account of previously taxed property under section 403(a)(2), and which latter claimed deduction we would deny for the reason that it was a double deduction and represented value of previously taxed property already deducted under paragraph (3) of section 403(a).

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Related

Archbold v. Commissioner
8 B.T.A. 919 (Board of Tax Appeals, 1927)
Fidelity Union Trust Co. v. Commissioner
6 B.T.A. 125 (Board of Tax Appeals, 1927)

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Bluebook (online)
6 B.T.A. 125, 1927 BTA LEXIS 3596, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/fidelity-union-trust-co-v-commissioner-bta-1927.